Wednesday, 29 July 2015

The Effortless Faux Glow: Soleil Tan de Chanel

As the British summer is pretty much non-existent at the moment, I find myself lusting after that perfect beautiful bronzed glow to perk up my rather pale complexion and leave me looking like I've had a week in the Bahamas (a girl can wish ey?). After catching the bronzer bug I fancied a splurge and picked up the highly coveted blogger favourite; Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel, and let's be honest who could resist something that looks so beautiful?

The Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel is described as a bronzing makeup base with a velvety finish that leaves your skin with a beautiful sunbathed look. You can wear it on its own, or for a hint of outdoor radiance, over or under your foundation. I love how versatile this product is, whether you use this as a bronzer or to deepen your foundation and base, it's just a very handy product.

The bronzer itself in the pan and when applied does have orange tones but don't be put off by that. At first I was scared I was going to look like I'd had a fight with a Jaffa Cake but luckily enough being a cream formula this blends out beautiful and easily, leaving your skin with a warm healthy glow especially across the temples and cheeks. You'd expect this to have a mousse consistency but instead it's a lot more firmer which means you don't pick up too much product on your brush when applying - which makes application a whole lot easier. To apply, I tend to use either my Real Techniques Buffing Brush or Stippling Brush, as the texture feels buttery to touch the bronzer is really workable and blends easily to leave a natural looking glow on the skin that definitely enhances my complexion and make my skin look and feel more awake. I find that this is one of those products that is hard to go wrong with because even if you do apply a little heavy handed you can blend the colour out so it never looks overdone.

I've tried wearing this as a base before applying foundation also to darken some of my lighter foundations and this is great to help match tans or even your skintone - as I have a rather embarrassing forehead situation where my face is still slightly tanned from my holiday and my forehead is patchy and pale from where the skin flaked off with sunburn, not a good look honestly. On my skin I've found this will wear for around 7-8 hours and sets to a satin finish. Being a cream product I was a little worried that this would end up sliding off my oily complexion but actually this lasted quite well when worn on top of my makeup with a setting spray.

You give makeup pretty packaging and I'm basically sold, and that's how I feel when it comes to this product. It feels and looks very sleek with its monochrome accents and the infamous double 'C' Chanel trademark, and to be honest when buying Chanel makeup I do expect the luxurious packaging - I think there's just this stigma when you spend x amount on higher end brands. The only negative about the packaging is that it's not great for travelling because of how bulky it is, and I could never depot any of this into a smaller pot it really would be a sin to ruin something so pretty looking.

Overall I am in love with the Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel bronzer, it's definitely one of those products that once you swatch you find yourself lusting over you're leaving the Chanel counter a few pounds lighter. For £31 it is definitely a pricey product but you only need the smallest amount and it definitely goes a long way. After a months use I've hardly made a dent in the product and can see this lasting me many many months to come. But if you are looking for something a little more price friendly I think Bourjois do something similar.